We're off to Malawi...

Well, the Lord has been so incredibly faithful to us. Dan and I have been happily shocked by God's new plan for us during the next 2 years. Since our recent trip to Malawi (back in September of 2005), I have been praying that God would have us go back. I just never believed it would be this soon!

It all began about a month ago when Dan received an email from the African Bible College (ABC) home office in Jackson, Mi. They were contacting anyone who has ever been involved with their ministries, trying to recruit teachers for the grade school academy. The Academy is a ministry to the missionaries who live in Lilongwe. While they are serving either at ABC or somewhere nearby, they have a Christian school to send their kids to. Dan and I were familiar with the Academy because it is located on the ABC campus, near the ABC clinic. There wasn't a lot of information given, so we decided to apply in order to find out the details. During the application process, the Lord began to speak to both of us. While we waited to hear back from the ABC home office, the calling became louder and louder. By the time we heard back, we were so excited and anxious to see if this is indeed what the Lord wants us to do next.

We have been officially recruited by ABC to spend the next 2 years teaching at the Academy. I will have my own preschool class and Dan will be a junior high math teacher. There are 26 countries represented in by the student body at the Academy. The majority of the students are missionary kids, but there are some children who are from the local area.

Of course this ruins any plans that I had to finish my BA at the University of Washington, but to be honest, I think that God's plan for me is much more important right now. We are both so thankful to be going back to Africa, this time, to really serve along side the other missionaries at ABC in Malawi.

We will miss our family and friends terribly. A two year commitment wasn't in the plan when we first applied, but then again, all of this is a real surprise to us. We feel as though the Lord slowly revealed to us His plan in His timing and has given us a lot of grace and assurance in this decision.

We hope that this blog can be helpful in us sharing this experience with you while we prepare to leave, as well as while we are living in Malawi. It will be the best way that we can communicate with all of you and keep you regularly updated. We truly are excited to share what the Lord is doing in Africa and hope that y'all will also use this page to send us notes and comments, as we will miss y'all so much!!!

We are planning to leave the first week of August, so thankfully we still have the Seattle summer! We appreciate your support and prayers!